Ordinary Heroes

Ordinary Heroes
Some say Freedom is Free

Some Say Freedom is Free
Well I tend to Disagree
Some say freedom is won
Through the Barrel of a Gun
So tell me Why, why O Why..
Do I keep Fightin On
So tell me why why o why
Do we Keep Marchin On
Tristin: Chuck Hagel
Vietnam War; Army; Interview
We were raise in little towns in Nebraska where the local American Legion club and the VFW
were really social centers of the universe. So we grew up with the blue Legion cap, with a sense
of responsibility to this country. You didnt think about it. If the country was at war and had a
need, you served.
My Daddy Fought in Vietnam
Went to War with the Viet Cong
My Grand dad fought in World War two
And Gave is Life for Me and You
JD: Max Cleland
On my fathers side I was the fourth generation to be willing to serve our country in the military.
My great-grandfather served in the 64th Georgia Volunteers under Robert E. Lee in the defense of
Richmond and was wounded I the Battle of the Crater outside Petersburg, July 13, 1864. I just
came across recently the draft registration for my grandfather on my fathers side; he registered
for draft in 1918, and then the war was over. My father served in the United States Navy as an
enlisted man. After the attack on Pearl Harbor. And I grew up with that legend, that incredible
story of the attack and the response and Roosevelt and the day of infamy.
It was a Dark and Dismal Day

Two Planes Crashed into the World Trade
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Was a Dark and Dismal Day

Two planes crashed into the world trade
Tell me why, why o why
Did those people have to die
Did those families have to cry?
Was just after dawn
A plane flew into the pentagon
Was just after dawn
A plane flew into the pentagon
Did those soldiers have to die
Tell me why why o why
Do these tears fill my eyes.
Some say freedom is free
Well I tend to disagree
Through the barrel of a gun
So I keep fightin on...
Tristin:
Chuck Hagel
I tried college- I tried three colleges, actually. It was not in the best interest of those academic
institutions to keep me, nor in my best interest. I worked for radio stations, did various jobs in
and out of school. And I was called at home one day by the draft board, who said, Young man,
you have six months to get back into college. We have levies, and theyre big levies coming
down. As you know, in 67, 68, the big buildup. And I sat before the draft board and said, No,
I think the best thing for me would be to go into the Arm. It might not have been the best thing
for the Army.
Rhonda Knox Prescott
Madison: When I enlisted, I was living in New York City, Where I was born and raised. I was in
my last year of nursing school. And they recruited nurses then because the Vietnam War was
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escalating. I needed my senior years tuition desperately. My cousin was in the military.
Members of my family were military officers in the Army. My high school chums were in the
military, a number of them were in Vietnam. It just seemed that all the time we were bombarded
with the idea of war. I figured that since I was to be a nurse, an operating room nurse, that would
be the best place for my skills. Although all the branches were recruiting for nurses, the Army
was the one that mostly guaranteed that you would go right to Vietnam.
Tristin:
Chuck Hagel
We were sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey, to process out to Germany. And thats where I took my
orders down to the processing station and handed them in and said, Id like to go to Vietnam.
At that point, there was a hush in the orderly room, and they said, Young man, sit down, and a
chaplain came out, a psychiatrist came out, two majors came out and they took me aside.
Obviously they were concerned that I was running away from something. Obviously I dont
think youd find that many guys come in with orders to Germany and say, I want to go to
Vietnam. We talked for about three hours, about what my motives were, and they said, All
right, well take you off the manifest. I hung around Fort Dix for about two weeks while they
reissued my orders. They sent me back home to Nebraska for about five days, and we
transitioned out through Oakland.
JD: Max Cleland
I felt that I needed to take my place in the line. I didnt want to avoid the war of my generation.
As a history major I knew these defining moments in history came along now and then. And if
you want to be part of American history in the future, you better get in there so you can be a
good leader afterward. I chose Signal Corps because I wanted to be shot at every other day, not
every day. I figured if I went infantry Id be dead. I wanted to be part of the action, but I just
didnt want to get killed being part of the action.
Tristin:
Chuck Hagel
Those who have been through basic training know it is a very unique experience. I was there in
the summer of 67 at Fort Bliss, which, for those who are unaware of that garden spot, is in the
desert right outside of El Paso, Texas. Oh it was hot, sand, desert, rocks.
I was with a lot of kids who had never had any organization in their life. They were drafted from
Navajo reservations; there were Hispanic kids. We had kids who had quit school in the seventh
grade; we had some kids who had never worn boots, hardly shoes. Tough group. And of course
basic training is tough. They need to make you tough. And it was a survival issue for all of us.
The drill sergeant would say, Boy Im going to teach you to be mean and tough, because if
youre not mean and tough you are going to get your head blown off.
Drill sergeant cadence
Everywhere I go
There's a Drill Sergeant there
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Everywhere I go
Drill Sergeant
Drill Sergeant
Why don't you leave me alone
And let me go back home
Hunter: What are you swatting at Marine?
JD: Sand Flea drill sergeant.
Hunter: Did you kill it?
JD: Yes drill sergeant.
Hunter: That was my pet, Marine. You are going to bury that sand flea, in a proper grave. Do
you understand me?
Hunter: Six feet long six feet deep
When I eat my chow...
When I eat my chow...
Drill Sergeant
Drill Sergeant
Hunter: Whoever told you to join the Air force?!
Abel: The Navy recruiter, Sir.
Hunter: Is anyone here musically inclined?
(three soldiers raise their hands.)
Hunter: Good, You three will move the commanders piano.
When I brush my teeth...
When I brush my teeth...
Drill Sergeant
Drill Sergeant
Hunter: Marine, was that sand flea a male or female?
JD: I dont know drill sergeant.
Hunter: How are you going to give it a eulogy if you dont know?
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JD: I dont know drill sergeant.

Hunter: Well dig it up and find out.
Everywhere I go
Everywhere I go
Drill Sergeant
Drill Sergeant
Emily: Combat Rules soldiers should know
Myia: Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you.
Katie: Never look important the enemy may be low on ammo
Davanny: Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
Morgan: Never forget that your weapon is made by the lowest bidder.
Emily: When Europe marched to war in the summer of 1914, both sides thought the fighting
would be over in a few weeks. Instead, by the close of December, World War I had already
claimed close to a million lives, and it was clear the fighting would go on for a long time.
Christmas In The Trenches
My name is Francis Tolliver. I come from Liverpool.
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school.
To Belgium and to Flanders, to Germany to here,
I fought for King and country I love dear.
It was Christmas in the trenches where the frost so bitter hung.
The frozen field of France were still, no Christmas song was sung.
Our families back in England were toasting us that day,
their brave and glorious lads so far away.
I was lyin' with my mess-mates on the cold and rocky ground
when across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound.
Says I "Now listen up me boys", each soldier strained to hear
as one young German voice sang out so clear.
"He's singin' bloddy well you know", my partner says to me.
Soon one by one each German voice joined in in harmony.
The cannons rested silent. The gas cloud rolled no more
as Christmas brought us respite from the war.
JD: It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and about 7
or 8 in the evening there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and there were these
lights -I don't know what they were. And then they sang "Silent Night" - "Stille Nacht." I shall
never forget it, it was one of the highlights of my life. I thought, what a beautiful tune.
As soon as they were finished a reverent pause was spent.
'God rest ye merry, gentlemen' struck up some lads from Kent.
The next they sang was 'Stille Nacht". "Tis 'Silent Night'" says I
and in two toungues one song filled up that sky.
Tristin: Then suddenly lights began to appear along the German parapet, which were evidently
make-shift Christmas trees, adorned with lighted candles, which burnt steadily in the still, frosty
air! First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours,
until when we started up "O Come, All Ye Faithful" the Germans immediately joined in singing
the same hymn to the Latin words Adeste Fideles. And I thought, well, this is really a most
extraordinary thing - two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.
"There's someone commin' towards us" the front-line sentry cried.
All sights were fixed on one lone figure trudging from their side.
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shone on that plain so bright
as he bravely strode, unarmed, into the night.
Jarod: I shouted to our enemies that we didn't wish to shoot and that we make a Christmas truce.
I said I would come from my side and we could speak with each other. First there was silence,
then I shouted once more, invited them, and the British shouted "No shooting!" Then a man
came out of the trenches and I on my side did the same and so we came together and we shook
hands - a bit cautiously!
Then one by one on either side walked into no-mans-land
with neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand.
We shared some secret brandy and wished each other well
and in a flare-lit soccer game we gave 'em hell.
Hunter: Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a
lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers
felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal
enemies together as our friends for a time.
We traded chocolates, cigarettes and photographs from home
these sons and fathers far away from families of their own.
Young Sanders played his squeeze box and they had a violin
this curious and unlikely band of men.
Abel: Our Padre arranged the prayers and psalms, etc., and an interpreter wrote them out in
German. They were read first in English by our Padre and then in German by a boy who was
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studying for the ministry. It was an extraordinary and most wonderful sight. The Germans
formed up on one side, the English on the other, the officers standing in front, every head bared.
Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more.
With sad farewells we each began to settle back to war.
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wonderous night
"whose family have I fixed within my sights?"
Casey: The last I saw of this little affair was a vision of one of my machine gunners, who was a
bit of an amateur hairdresser in civilian life, cutting the unnaturally long hair of a docile Boche,
who was patiently kneeling on the ground while the automatic clippers crept up the back of his
neck.
It was Christmas in the trenches where the frost so bitter hung.
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung.
For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war
had been crumbled and were gone for ever more.
Robbie: At 8:30, I fired three shots into the air and put up a flag with "Merry Christmas" on it on
the parapet. He [a German] put up a sheet with "Thank You" on it, and the German captain
appeared on the parapet. We both bowed and saluted and got down into our respective trenches,
and he fired two shots into the air, and the war was on again.
My name is Francis Tolliver. In Liverpool I dwell.
Each Christmas come since World War One I've learned it's lessons well.
That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame
and on each end of the rifle we're the same.
My Grand dad fought in World War two
And Gave is Life for Me and You
Skylar: Clare: In WW2 When service men went off to war their parents or their spouses could
purchase a little flag emblem that you would put in the window and it would have however many
stars. First we had one star then two stars, then we had three star, because my husband and two
brothers were in. Then if one of the soldiers perished they had an embroidered gold star that
could affix over it.
He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way

He had a boogie style that no one else could play
He was the top man at his craft
But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft
He's in the army now, a-blowin' reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B
Collin: Letter from Herbert Johns
March 18, 1944
Last night we had a party at the club. I had a pretty good time. I didnt drink much. I still have no
hankering for hangovers. Needless to say, I miss you very much.
I moped around most
of the evening and went home around 10:30. Seeing all the other fellows dancing and having a
good time with their girls made me so darn lonesome and homesick for you that I just up and
left.
They made him blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam
It really brought him down because he couldn't jam
The captain seemed to understand
Because the next day the cap' went out and drafted a band
And now the company jumps when he plays reveille
Brianna: During World War II,Baltimore, which was a key port for shipping of both men and
materiel, was also home to shipyards and other industrial plants that were vital to the war effort.
Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards was working at full capacity and was in desperate need of
qualified workers.
Katie: I could work in the yards, on the ships, or in the pipe shop, and expressed a strong
preference for the latter, a place where I could do my work and be left alone, I made one or two
understand I wasnt there to fool around, I was there for the war effort and to weld for our boys
overseas.
My dad encouraged me, and nobody in the world could be any better. He said, Sissy, theyre
giving welding lessons, why dont you take em? You like stuff like that. So I did.
At that time. People had the idea that it wasnt a respectable job. I had my high school
education, I was from a good family. I belonged to the best clubs in town. But some of my
friends I played bridge with, they looked down their nose. They thought it was little degraded for
a Hallyburton to do that. You had something before you that meant a life. I didnt weld it right,
maybe that was one that ruined the whole thing.
A-toot, a-toot, a-toot-diddelyada-toot
He blows it eight-to-the-bar, in boogie rhythm
He can't blow a note unless the bass and guitar is playin' with 'I'm
He makes the company jump when he plays reveille
Skylar: Clare: after censorship restrictions on mail lifted, Herbert wrote me a long letter
describing all of his stations during the war. At that time, he was stationed in France, about 70
miles southwest of Paris.
May 9, 1945
Honey the big day has arrived at last. One half of our job is now finished. Let us pray that Japan
will soon follow Germany on the road to complete surrender. I sure hope that I can get home for
a spell. These are the alternatives. Either we go direst to the S.P. [South Pacific] or to the S.P. via
the States or we stay here to occupy Germany. However, your guess is as good as mine as to the
final outcome. In the Army one looks for the worst & hopes for the best. The best of course
would be to see my Honey again.
He was some boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B
And when he plays the boogie woogie bugle he was busy as a "bzzz" bee
And when he plays he makes the company jump eight-to-the-bar
Emily: Are you a victim of Optimism?
You dont know?
Then ask yourself the following questions:
Do you suffer from cheerfulness?
Do you wake up in the morning feeling that all is going well for the Allies?
Do you sometimes feel that the war will end in the next 12 months?
Do you believe good news in preference to bad?
If your answer is yes to any of these questions then you are in the clutches of that dread
disease.... Optimism.
We can cure you. Two days spent at our establishment will effectually eradicate all traces of it
from your system.
Katie: Cursing was prohibited in the shop, but one woman flaunted her nasty language. She
kept saying things, Meda recalled, and I said, I wish you wouldnt do that. It bothers me. And
she said, Do you work. And I said If you do that again, Im gonna smack you. She said, You
havent got the nerve. About that time she hit the floor. She didnt call me any more bad names.
Toot toot toot-diddelyada, Toot-diddelyada, toot-toot
He blows it eight-to-the-bar
He can't blow a note if the bass and guitar isn't with 'I'm
Ha-ha-hand the company jumps when he plays reveille
(Instrumental)
He puts the boys to sleep with boogie every night
And wakes 'em up the same way in the early bright
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They clap their hands and stamp their feet

Because they know how he plays when someone gives him a beat
He really breaks it up when he plays reveille
He's boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B
Katie: You dont hunt for entertainment, she said. Youre tired when you get home, fix
something to eat, dont want to take a bath, just fall right in bed.
When the intercom at the shipyard crackled with the announcement that the war was over, We
shouted, but we cried, because that was our jobs. We cried when we said good-bye; we knew we
could never see each other again.
Dat-da da-do-do da-dup
Ha-ha-hand the company jumps when he plays reveille
Skylar: Clare: My husband served all of 42, 43, 44, and half of 45. The war in England had
ended May 8th and they were processing them to go to Japan. There hadnt been any talk of any
furloughs for them to come back home before going. I guess nobody knew of plans for the
atomic bomb. It was all secret stuff.
May 20, 1945
Today was a pip for yours truly. This morning we had a physical exam. It might interest
you to know Im disgustingly healthy. No chance of getting out of the Army that way. However,
at this particular moment I am very much under the weather. I can hardly move my arms. You
see, in addition to getting an exam, they brought the shots up to date. I accumulated the amazing
score of four shots & one vaccination. That is enough to know down a horse. It is my own fault,
though, as I had been putting it off for some time.
The other major event was a totaling of my points. I have 71. One needs 85 to be
considered for release. I guess I stay in the Army. I wouldnt mind that so much though if they
would only send me home.
God Honey I sure do miss you. Even more & more. It hardly seems possible that soon we
will have been married two years. Lord, I hope that I see you soon. Id give a lot to see you
again. This business is definitely. N.G. [no good]. Well, if we are lucky perhaps it wont be long.
Honey, I must sign off now as my arm is killing me.
.
Skylar: Clare: But it was during this process when they were giving shots to go to Japan that
they discovered my husband had leukemia.
Skylar: Letter from Clare to Herbert Johns
July 5, 1945
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I just came back from walking in the rain. It seemed comforting when human tears fall.
Today I received your letter, telling me you are in the hospital in Le Mans. I read the words a
thousand times before they mad any sense. Darling, I am so sorry. I am half-crazy wondering
what? How serious & how painful?
It was not too much of a shock before I just knew something was wrong. In your recent
letters, you seemed to slow down so-no mention of news or activities.
Dear one, all this time you must spend lying there waiting and resting-think of me and of
us together. You must get well and strong and come back to me.
Tell me, dear, can I write to you directly to the hospital or shall I keep on using the old
address? Please advise!
If only I were there or could come to see you. But here I am so far away, when I would
want to be only a kiss away from you. Write soon and give me some of the medical details.
Markegan: The letter, postmarked nine days before Herbert died, was returned to Clare Johns,
unopened.
Skylar: Clare: It was a rapid illness-he died within ten days of the discovery. [Herbert Johns died
on July 14, 1945, en route to the U.S. for medical treatment.] That was a very sad time for us. I
had to tell his older parents, were in their late 60s. He was the youngest of the family, it was a
sad time for them.
My Daddy Fought in Vietnam

Went to War with the Viet Cong
Vietnam
Tristin: CHUCK HAGEL
Army; Interview
It's hot, it's unfamiliar, it's oppressive. There is great angst, uncertainty. It was 3 o'clock in the
morning, and even at 6 o'clock in the morning the heat was oppressive. We were walking toward
the processing area, and a bunch of the grizzled old veterans who were coming to get on the bird
that we were on to go back home were shouting things at us, "Hey baby, Charlie's gonna love
you. They're gonna cut your ears off," saying every outrageous thing that you could imagine. We
were all staid, stolid, marching along, not going to let any of this affect us. Of course, it did. You
never forget that entry point; you always remember what it looked like, what you did, and what
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you heard. The whole thing closing in on you in a way like you'd never experienced anything.
Madison: Rhonda Prescott When we were busy which was most of the time we had to
somehow block out the smells and the sounds. The smells were of dirty, putrefied flesh and
blood. The sounds were of people crying and screaming and praying, and then there were people
on our own staff who were also pretty flustered and muttering back and forth. The sounds were
chaotic. The only way to function was to somehow block those things from sensory perception or
you couldn't go on. So that is what we did, and I don't know how we did it. I guess there is some
innate gift in all of us. 1 really think it was the hand of God there.
Tristin: CHUCK HAGEL

Army; Interview
Hagel's battalion basecamp was the farthest of any into the Mekong Delta.
I walked a lot of point, and my brother Tom and I together walked a lot of
point, which was all right. You know what happens to a lot of point men. But I
always felt a little better when I was up front than somebody else. You have the
front position; you also have the responsibility of not walking your company into
an ambush or a trap. Booby traps were a way of life; you dealt with that all the
time. At night we would sweep roads, and we needed to do that because at night
VC would get on these roads and plant bombs, various imaginative booby traps.
Or they would do something to continue to keep us off balance. Our APCs
[Armored Personnel Carriers] would run those roads at night. We were sitting ducks riding in the
APCs because it was so dark you couldn't see in front of you
and you couldn't use lights. You didn't find it particularly healthy to be in those
Armored Personnel Carriers.
Madison: Rhonda Prescott Home was up the hill. We had wooden buildings that you could
live in that
were a little better than tents. We had cots to sleep on that were at least off the
floor, which is more than I can say for the patients, because many of them
wound end up on the tent floor, there werent enough cots for them I dont remember
much about being off duty. I think the shower stands out in my mind more
than anything, because we were covered with blood and human waste and perspiration from ourselves. There was one shower; it was outside and there was a
little tent around it and it was open to the air above. It was a big old water bag.
They filled it with water every day. It was heated up by the heat of the sun, so
that was good; it was warm water. You just had to run down to the latrine with
your towel around you and get your shower quick. You were not to waste water;
there were others coming. Some of the fly-boys thought it was comical to fly
overhead while we were showering. They got a big giggle, but the water was so welcome it
didn't really matter. That was the highlight of "home," as you say.
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Tristin: We were on an ambush patrol. We knew that the VC had been in this area.
We were walking through a very dense jungle, and we were crossing a stream.
One of the point guys hit a trip wire in the stream. There were large Claymore
mines that had been placed in the trees, so when the trip wire was hit, the
Claymores exploded. Took down the guys in front of us, hit me with shrapnel in
the chest, and Tom got shrapnel in the arms and I think the chest.
It was hard to get in with choppers because it was so dense, and then of
course you got problems with security of bringing those choppers down so low.
The captain asked if the Hagel brothers could make it, and they we said yes, and
then he asked if we would walk point and lead them out.
I was as afraid that night, I think, as I'd ever been because it was dark, and
when it gets dark, it's dark.We almost hit another booby trap-Tom saved us. It
was a live grenade hanging with a thin wire. It would have gotten me, but he
grabbed it and defused it.
Davanny: Hagel spent three days in a field hospital; the doctors left some shrapnel in him
because the pieces were too close to his heart.
Madison: Eleanor [Eleanor Grace Alexander] was there when I got there. She was also
a captain and so we were more or less on the same level and we became friends.
We also took turns covering the operating room, because the person who was
really in charge (a major) for one reason or another just didn't seem to be there
very much. Whenever the "pushes" came in (which means the mass casualties
that would come in by the carload and by the planeload, literally), it was either
Eleanor or I who ran it because the major just couldn't be found. We co-supervised
that operating room. There was a battle gearing up, one of the battles that turnec
out to be the beginning of that infamous Tet Offensive of 1968. I was the nurse or:
that team; there was an anesthetist and two corpsmen. Eleanor wanted to be the
nurse on the team, but they chose me because I had the experience.
Tristin: The fire came up and burned me up and down on my left side, my arm. My
brother Tom was unconscious because of the concussion. We were also experiencing some
machine gun fire from the jungle. By the time our other tracks could
turn around and get back, I got everybody off our track because I was afraid it
was going to blow with all the ammunition we had in those tracks. My brother
Tom had blood coming out of his ears and his nose; I didn't know whether he was
dead, but I threw him off and fell on top of him. By this time the machine gun fire
had gotten even fiercer and heavier. But our tracks were coming back to get us.
Tom had a concussion and had been hit with shrapnel. Both of my eardrums had
been blown out. And until they could secure the area, they couldn't bring any
choppers in to get the wounded out. I remember sitting on that track waiting for
the dust-off [chopper] to come and thinking to myself, If I ever get out of all this,
I'm going to do everything I can to assure that war is the last resort that we, a nation,
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a people, calls upon to settle a dispute. The horror of it, the pain of it, the suffering
of it, people just don't understand unless they've been through it. There's no
glory, only suffering in war.
Madison: We had been through a day of heavy casualties in our operating room,
Eleanor was off; I was on. I was doing triage and a lot of other things. The day had ended; the
casualties were treated. I had gone over to the officers' club. I was beat. In that five or ten
minutes, the call came. I wasn't in my quarters. Eleanor was close by; my roommate went and
got her, and [Eleanor] took my gear (which included my jacket with my name on it), and since
time was of the essence she got on the helicopter went to the duty station at another hospital in
my place.
About four weeks later the casualties were under control. She and the team
were coming back, and the plane didn't make it. It did indeed crash into a mountain in heavy rain. There is a question as to whether it was shot down (because
there were bullet holes found in the fuselage). They were all killed. We don't
know if it was immediate, because nobody could get to them for three days, but
Eleanor (probably wearing my jacket) died that day, and I lived.
Did those people have to die
Did those families have to cry?
Hush, little baby, don't say a word.

Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat
And if that billy goat won't pull,
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull
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And if that cart and bull turn over,

Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover
And if that dog named Rover won't bark
Papa's gonna buy you a horse and cart
And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.
Devanny:( Overlapping) Monica Velez (MV): My mom left us when I was seven, so my dad
was a single parent. And I did all the household chores. I got the boys dressed for school, I taught
them how to ride their bike, I taught them how to read and write.
One day when they both came home from basic training, they did a demotion party where they
told me I was no longer allowed to be bossy. I couldn't tell them what to do or what to wear. And
they kind of started telling me how to grow up and live my life as a young adult instead of acting
like a mother.
"I Drive Your Truck"
Eighty-Nine Cents in the ash tray
Half empty bottle of Gatorade rolling in the floorboard
That dirty Braves cap on the dash
Dog tags hangin from the rear view
Old Skoal can, and cowboy boots and a Go Army Shirt folded in the back
This thing burns gas like crazy, but thats alright
People got their ways of coping
Oh, and Ive got mine
I drive your truck
I roll every window down
And I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
Til all the pains a cloud of dust
Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck
Hunter: Randy Pilgrim (RP): When I first realized that something may be not right, he got in the
truck with me and thered been an animal run over, I suppose a dog. And as I went around it,
Lance just broke down crying. I pulled on over, I said "Are you ok?" And he was sobbing, he
said "We tried once to go around bodies in Iraq, but we were ambushed. So we were told from
then on, dont let anything slow you down." So he said "I had to run over people." But, he said,
"I dont think Ill ever get that out of my mind."
Abel: Lance Pilgrim (LP): I don't know what's wrong with me, but I do know that before the
15
war, I loved the Army and wanted to make it a career. Upon return from Iraq, I went from a
Specialist promotable who knew my job well and loved what I did, to nothing in just a few short
months.
Now I take my life one day at a time. I still have terrible nightmares and wake up violent and
panicking. I can't stand to watch anything with military in it. It makes my anxiety level rise.
I leave that radio playing
That same ole country station where ya left it
Yeah, man I crank it up
And youd probably punch my arm right now
If you saw this tear rollin down on my face
Hey, man Im tryin to be tough
And momma asked me this morning
If Id been by your grave
But that flag and stone aint where I feel you anyway
Davanny: MV: Andrew deployed straight from basic training--so we didn't get to see him. Then
Freddy deployed shortly after Andrew. I was a little nervous, and I was scared.
I remember there was this string of lights at the restaurant where I worked at. And I I thought if I
lost my brothers it would be
like if you cut both sides of that string of lights and that middle light would just fall and break.
That would be me--I wouldn't be able to make it. And it was just such a good feeling when they
would call home.
Andrew would be very descriptive-- he'd just let you know, I can smell dead bodies, and, when
you shoot somebody they don't get back up--he would just tell us what it was. Freddy was more
private about it. He always made everything sound like he was lying on the beach, taking in the
sun, having martinis. He never made it sound like it was bad. I think Freddy was more trying to
like protect us.
I drive your truck
And I burn up
Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck
Gabi: Judy Pilgrim (JP): That summer, on his base, he found out that he could deal with his
panic attacks and nightmares by taking pain medication, and he became dependent on it. He
came home during the middle of the week. We said, "How did you get to come home during the
middle of the week?" And he said, "Well, I just left."
16
Hunter: RP: Yeah, and then they couldnt get him to stay on base. So he was finally discharged
with an "other than honorable discharge." He was trying extremely hard to get back on track but
he went from a strong, independent young man to just, he couldnt do anything on his own
anymore, he was just almost helpless.
Ive cussed, Ive prayed, Ive said goodbye
Shook my fist and asked God why
These days when Im missing you this much
Gabi: JP: He had a number of tattoos and he had added a new one, it was a spider web. And I
said, "What does this mean?" and he said "Well, thats what I feel like Im caught up in." The
night that he died, he had panic attacks that day
Hunter: RP: I remember him driving up and I know he feIt he had let me down. And I wish I
had been more supportive at that moment. Now, if I could do it all over again, Id give him a big
hug and just say, Dont let this be a stumbling block for you. And you know I didnt do that. An it
was the last time I saw him alive.
Abel: LP:I always feel like I have to protect my home and family, like someone is coming for us.
Some nights, I stay up all night listening for intruders. I worry I might sleepwalk and get a gun
sometimes. My father has had to remove all the guns out of the house. Some nights I worry about
how I would kill an intruder without my gun. I'm always planning ahead in my mind what I'll
grab if they come, what I'll do. I'm always over-alert to what's going on around me. My worst
days are the days after one of my dreams. I wake up and my my zeal for life is gone.
Gabi: JP: Lance had actually been prescribed hydrocodone by the VA hospital. He was not
supposed to have it because he had had problems with it. And he died from an accidental
overdose.
Hunter: RP: We requested a military funeral, and it was denied.
Gabi: JP: He did everything his country asked him to do.
Hunter: RP: Uhuh. The Army reviewed all the information to get his discharge turned around.
Gabi: JP: And it was was finally turned around. It was completely honorable, and his medals
came in the mail, in an envelope but it was two years after hed died.
I drive your truck
And I burn up
Yeah, sometimes, brother sometimes
17
I drive your truck

I drive your truck
I hope you dont mind, I hope you dont mind
I drive your truck
Davanny: Freddy was killed in action in Iraq. The Army asked Andrew to escort Freddy's body
back to the States for the services.
And, I talked to Andrew throughout the trip, and he started telling me these horrible things about
how every time they stopped they would make him open Freddy's bag up, and he'd have to look
at Freddy's body.
I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to help him.
Freddy died in 2004, and then Andrew died in 2006 by suicide in Afghanistan.
My brothers were like my soul mates, and when my dad passes away there won't be anybody
else but me. I just miss my brothers.
And so I try to remind myself every day that I have to earn what I get to love each day. It's a gift.
Coming Home
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.
The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love remains true.
And I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.
Brianna: Catherine Neville
Korean War; Army Nurse Corps; Interview
There were no parades. Well you see you came out as an individual, and I think thats what
happened to the Korean veterans as well as the Vietnam veterans. They came home to nothing,
but it was because they werent a unit. They were by themselves, or maybe a half dozen, and
they went through some separation center, and thats all. They went back to their homes. It was
like there was no end to it. Im sure it must have been a letdown for them, they were just glad to
get out. But there was no recognition, which we didnt have.
18
So I'm going home,

Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
Tristin: Chuck Hagel
The out-processing was terrible. Now for me, wanting just to get out, it was the greatest thing
that could have happened. The last thing I wanted was to hear a bunch of majors or sergeant
majors tell me about everything. But when you think when you let somebody get out on that
street in San Francisco, or wherever theyre going to go to, with a full wallet, new class As, and
Thank you for you service, young man, now go have a good life, considering what they had
just been through [there is] no transition, no kind of bringing it down a little bit, no adjustment. I
mean, you had your physical and you had you chaplain talk to you and a couple of psychiatrists
talk to you, and that whole thing about an hour.
That just wasnt a good way to do it, because in those days, in 68, you had those draftees in
there, many of them not suited to be there for a variety of reasons, and they needed some
counseling out of this. Now some guys were going to be headed for trouble. Maybe Vietnam
made it worse for some guys. In some cases it wouldnt have mattered if they had gone to
Vietnam or not.
Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
You just might get it all, yeah.
Madison: Rhona Knox Prescott
Vietnam War; Army Nurse Corps; Interview.
When I came back, I was the only woman on the plane. We came into McCord Air Force Base in
Washington State on a military flight, and then we had to somehow get down to San Francisco to
a civilian airport. In uniform. When I got to San Francisco, everybody was just yelling and
looking mad and calling us names. Since I was a woman, I just ducked into a restroom and took
off my uniform and threw it in the trash and became a civilian.
I went across country to visit my dad and his wife (my stepmother was a nurse in the Korean
conflict), thinking, Oh, this is safe haven. Now I can just blab and yell and scream and get it all
out of my system and they are going to understand. They didnt understand either. My dad
paced; he seemed embarrassed. He didnt say anything, but he wasnt with me. My stepmother
actually yelled at me and told me that it couldnt possibly have been like that. She said, The
news says this, you say that. She wanted me to keep my voice lowered and stop my ranting and
19
raving because the neighbors would be concerned. There was just no understanding or support in
this place at all.
So I just became a little woman who didnt talk about the military or Vietnam. I just kind of
kept it all inside. From what I understand, that is pretty much what the guys did, too. It was
easier for me because I could hide; there were hardly any women in the military at the time. That
is what we all did. Nobody would talk about it because it fell on deaf ears. There was so much
emotion pent up.
Oh, well I'm going home,

But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
I'm going home.
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.
The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love remains true.
And I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.
Jarod:
James Walsh
Korean War; Army; Memoir;
I rotated back to the good old USA in May 1952, an alive, very bright, singlerocker U.S. Army
staff sergeant.
It took two weeks for the troop ship to cross the Pacific Ocean. When it docked at San
Franciscos Presidio, it nearly keeled over, every GI who could crowding the rails dockside. We
looked for the welcoming committee, a band, the Red Cross with coffee and donuts.
There was no crowd, no band, no Red Cross, no coffee and donuts, nothing to welcome
Americas fighting men home for Korea in late May 1952. There was a collective grunt of
ingratitude.
The ships unloading ramp hit the landing, and GIs, thrilled to be back on American soil while
irritated theyd been forgotten, filed cheerfully toward the reception building. Form out of
nowhere, three civilians, a beautiful young woman dressed prettier than a fashion model and an
20
older pretty woman, as sharply dressed holding the hand of an older handsome man in a black
serge suit and red tie rushed onto the landing. A GI broke ranks and ran from the ramp into the
arms of his sweetheart, his parents. They hugged and kissed, kissed and hugged, hugged and
kissed.
There wasnt a dry GI eye aboard the ship or on the landing.
I had in mind a reception of my own. After Id arrived at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and got my
orders for leave, I was going to catch a Chicago bus, get off in front of St.Juliana School, pull my
kid brother out of grade school, and march two blocks of Oketo Street to home and a surprise on
Mom and Dad.
It was me that was surprised. At the gates of Fort Sheridan, there were Mom, Dad, sister Kay,
and brother Jack, Ed, and Denny.
There wasnt a dry GI eye.
So I'm going home,
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
You just might get it all, yeah.
Tristin: How did the public receive you when you walked out of that gate into civilian life?
I didnt ever experience any difficult time. I suppose I got out at the right time, about December
68. I know as you move forward the intensity of the antiwar movement is kind of rough. And I
went back to the Midwest where it was a different world. I was brought back to the bosom of
veterans and service to your country. I had great experience with the veterans of World War II
and Korea very encouraging, very helpful.
Oh, well I'm going home,
But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old,
21
So I'm going home.

I'm going home.
Emily: Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75
combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and
parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese
prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One
day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and
said, You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You
were shot down! How in the world did you know that? asked Plumb. I packed your parachute,
the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, I
guess it worked! Plumb assured him, It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be
here today.
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, I kept wondering what he
might have looked like in a Navy uniform: A white hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom
trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how
are you or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor. Plumb
thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship,
carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time
the fate of someone he didn't know.
Now, Plumb asks his audience, Who's packing your parachute?
Rock Steady
Rock me, Rock me, Rock, Rock steady,
Roll me, Roll me, Roll me ready,
Sydney: Evelyn Hodd (EH): At three years of age, you walked over to the piano, and you just
started playing. And you played until you were what, 17? You performed in the Metropolitan
Opera Theater. And I thought we might take up Julliard's offer, they had granted you half a
scholarship. However, you had made a decision to go in the military. That was devastating for
me. And then, you had an accident...
22
Robbie: Daniel Hodd (DH): Yeah, we were doing our pre-deployment training. And I walked up
to one of the vehicles and I went to open one of the doors and the door just kind of snapped three
fingers. So they sent me to a specialist and they were like, "You know your finger's broken,
right? You can't deploy with a broken bone in your body."
To hear that you can't deploy because of less that one inch piece of your body, just seemed
absurd to me. And I had a couple dozen junior Marines who expected certain things of me. And I
promised them I would get out there as soon as I could.
Ultimately, the specialist told me, "We got two options. You can either try some treatment plan,
and you definitely won't deploy, or you just cut it off and you get on a plane."
And I was like, "Cut it off," because you know, I made a promise. I had to deploy.
In some ways that decision was difficult, in other ways it was one of the easiest decisions I've
ever made. I would be a very different person today, I think, had I graduated from music school
and not joined the Marine Corps. But that's not a decision that I regret. I know that that hurt you
and I'm sorry.
Sydney: EH: Well, I am so awfully proud of you, you have no idea.
The fact that you have given all to your country over what I wanted for you or even what you
would've pursued, it says a lot for who you are.
Robbie: DH: Well, I didn't give all. Many people gave a lot more but uh thank you and I love
you.
Sydney: EH: Love you too.
Were gonna Rock,
Rock,
All night long,
Were gonna Roll,
Roll,
'Til the break of dawn.
Were gonna swing it,
Swing it,
'Til we wanna go home.
Jarod: Max Voelz: We deployed in 2003. We were in the same unit. She ripped bombs apart by
hand in Iraq just like I did. There was no being scared, no doubt, no "I might die" -- we never
talked about that. But she died on an incident that I sent her on.
That night she was at a different base and I tried to talk to her on the phone before she went -just to tell her, like, an extra "Be careful." But she was already on her way to take care of it, so I
didn't get to.
23
Her injuries were severe. One leg was blown off. She was in a medically induced coma when I
got to the hospital. I talked to her the whole time she was in there. The nurses were telling me to
talk to her because they assured me that they had seen people come out of comas before and that
they remembered hearing things that people said. I mean, what are you gonna tell your wife
who's dying? That you love her and you don't want her to die. But I knew she was dead a long
time before the doctors stopped working on her. You hold someone's hand, and then it feels
different.
I called her parents. You know, I didn't want it to be a stranger knocking on the door in an army
suit. So, I told them that she died in my arms ten minutes ago.
You know, she did something that most people weren't willing to do, and I don't want people to
think that because she was killed while she was working that she was bad at her job, or that she
died because she was a girl. She did the same job that guys who think they're tough do. And she
did it just as good as I did, and I think I'm the best that there is.
You know, I got married to her when I was 25. Our plan was to retire from the army. Now I'm 36
and I still don't have a plan.
I am an army widower. I don't think there's very many of us. And when I receive a condolence
letter from a high-ranking government official that says, "Mrs. Voelz, we're sorry for the loss of
your husband," it just makes it seem like nobody knows we exist.
Were gonna shake it,
Shake it,
'Til your twilight zone,
Hunter: "Im going to be late tonight. Dirty magazines were discovered in the platoon quarters,"
"and the whole squad is being disciplined."
Myia: I launched into a tirade, arguing that Marines should not be penalized for something so
trivial.
Hunter: "Honey, when I said dirty magazines, I meant the clips from their rifles hadnt been
cleaned."
Were gonna Rock

Rock,
Roll,
Roll,
Get,
Stay,
Ready, Ready
Ready, Ready
24
Markegan: Marilyn Gonzalez (MG): When you told me that you wanted to deploy, I was so
angry.
Morgan: Jessica Pedraza (JP): I couldnt be the person who had to stay home and worry about
you being away. I couldnt do it.
And, whenever I would go out on a mission, you would go in my room and make my bed, and
sometimes you would come back from your missions and catch me sleeping on your bed.
Markegan: MG: I hope you know they used to tease me. But it was hard not to be mom. Every
time I saw you I wanted to just go up and hug you and I couldnt do it!
Morgan: JP: I just remember I always had to kiss you on the cheek and run--Mom, I love you!
Markegan: MG: Like that day that you said it on the radio.
Morgan: JP: I said Roger...I love you. And I remember, somebody interrupted and they were
like Hey, none of that over the radio! And then I heard you just say it right back.
Markegan: MG: Well, I just want to say that, that you were willing to put your life on the line to
be there with me, I could never tell you how much that means to me.
Morgan: JP: You know, I know that in a way you were kind of upset at the fact that I chose to do
what I did, and give up six college acceptances that I had, to do this with you. But I think that we
have the mother and daughter bond, and we have a soldiers bond. Theres just nothing more you
can ask for.
Were gonna Rock
Rock,
Roll,
Roll,
Get,
Stay,
Ready, Ready
Ready, Ready
Casey: Travis Williams (TW): That morning, we loaded into the vehicle. And I get tapped on the
shoulder and I got told that I need to bounce up to the next vehicle. I said, Catch you guys on
the flipside. And that was the last thing I ever said to them.
Next thing I know, I just hear the loudest explosion. And I see, thats my squads vehicle that got
25
hit. The bomb flipped it upside down, it ripped it completely in half, and everything inside of it
was just parts.
And uh, we got to wait for the chopper to come recover them. So the guys from the rest of our
platoon had to go out there with blankets and cover up these body parts, so dogs dont come and
grab my friends arm and have a meal.
When I got back into our room for the first time, it was just a mess, you know. We had to spend
the next couple of days just packing all this shit up, and mailing it home to their families.
Mailing their letters that they hadnt mailed, and cleaning up the dishes that they hadnt cleaned
up and Theres dirty laundry It was all I had left of my friends.
And uh, when I got home, I knew that I would meet these guys parents, their girlfriends and
their brothers and sisters andIts hard because I feel guilty for being the one guy left. But I also
feel a responsibility. I better make sure that everybody knows who these guys were, what these
guys did.
And you know, I am most proud of not blowing my head off by now. Its just a whole lot easier if
youre dead. But that shouldnt be your tribute to your dead friends. When theyre looking down
on you, they dont want you to be living in the moment that killed them. You made it. You got
home. You should honor their memory by living the life that they didnt get to live.
< Music >
Squad Leader Justin Hoffman
Team Leader David Kreuter
Team Leader Brett Wightman
Team Leader Aaron Reed
Lance Corporal Eric Bernholtz
Lance Corporal Michael Cifuentes
Lance Corporal Edward August Shroeder
Lance Corporal Timothy Bell
Lance Corporal Grant Fraser
Lance Corporal Nicholas Bloem
Lance Corporal Christopher Dyer
JD: Harrison Wright (HW): I was an 18 year-old boy and I was drafted. Went from England,
France, Belgium, Germanyand uh, I blew the bugle, in our outfit.
If a young man is killed in action or dies defending his country, you blow "Taps" over his grave.
And it justthere's no way to describe it. The emotion that you feel, knowing that those notes is
going out.
And I remember, the war was over, just a few daysand they asked me to blow "Taps" for all
26
who died in the war. We climbed this high hill. It was like a mountaintop. And my battalion was
at the bottom. I blew those "Taps" and, when I didthe men said itfloated out across all that
valley. And said it was beautiful.
They were all telling me how good it sounded and what a tribute it was, to our fallen comrades.
Tecumseh Poem
Brianna: So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one
about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your
life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.
Collin: Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a
noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Skylar: Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a
stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.
Morgan: When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you
see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.
Robbie: Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of
its vision.
Brianna: When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear
of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their
lives over again in a different way.
Jarod: Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.
And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.
27
From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,

across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,
From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there's pride in every American heart,
and it's time to stand and say:
I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A
Some say freedom is free
Well I tend to disagree
Through the barrel of a gun
So I keep fightin on...
The End
28

Ordinary Heroes

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Ordinary Heroes

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Ordinary Heroes

Some say Freedom is Free

It was a Dark and Dismal Day

Was a Dark and Dismal Day

JD: I dont know drill sergeant.

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way

They clap their hands and stamp their feet

My Daddy Fought in Vietnam

Tristin: CHUCK HAGEL

Hush, little baby, don't say a word.

And if that cart and bull turn over,

I drive your truck

So I'm going home,

Oh, well I'm going home,

So I'm going home.

Were gonna Rock

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,

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